Philbin, Players Find Time For Reflection

Some goals were met while more are being set.

It’s never easy to turn the page on the season for NFL players, especially when that time comes before the playoffs begin. This afternoon after team meetings, the players cleaned out their lockers and fielded questions from the local media for the final time this season. Here’s what Coach Joe Philbin and the players they had to say in their own words:

“Yeah, he made a lot of progress. There’s no question about it. I’m confident with the work ethic that he has, the passion that he has for the game. This kid wants to do well. You hope in coaching and, as I said to the players, in between your first and second year, you see that growth and development. There’s usually a pretty big curve and so we’re excited about the possibility of improvement for him.” - Joe Philbin on Tannehill’s progress from the beginning of the season to the end.

“I think I grew in most areas. Obviously with ever rep you are going to get more comfortable. With every game you get more comfortable, so I feel like I grew in a lot of areas, but I still need to do a lot more growing. Like I said, I’ll take a little time to relax and get away from it and then really closely evaluate myself, closely evaluate my play and go from there.” – quarterback Ryan Tannehill on the areas of his game where he saw growth throughout the season.

“I plan to just get better, get strong again and then just get back after it again. I’m aiming not to have a start like I had this year and I’m mentally ready to compete with someone every year. Just because it hasn’t happened for a year or two I’m not going to go out there thinking I’m the only one out there who’s right for this job. I know what it’s like to be on the other side being the young guy in so I’m going to get ready and prepared like I always do.” – kicker Dan Carpenter, who was put on Injured Reserve for the last two games, on his approach to the offseason and expectations for next year.

“I’ll play either side. I feel good at both left and right tackle so whatever I’m asked to do I’ll be willing to step up and play and do it. I think I had a pretty solid rookie season for the most part. There were some ups and downs but overall I think it was a successful campaign and I’m just excited to work and get ready for next year. I just need to get back in the weight room and work on fundamentals and technique.” – rookie tackle Jonathan Martin on his first season in the league and how he will approach next season.

“For me I thought I did a good job just trying to replace Richard Marshall. There weren’t a lot of expectations really from the outside looking in for me to really do anything this year but for me to come in and contribute the way I did, I think I made strides from last year to this year and I want to just continue to build off of that. For me next year it’s just about coming out and continuing to do the same things I need to be doing fundamental wise on and off the field with film study and technique stuff just to better myself next year.” – cornerback Nolan Carroll summarizing his third NFL season and looking ahead.

“As far as individual performance I feel like I had a great year. There’s always room for improvement so I’ll be back better next year. And Ryan’s great. We got lucky when we picked that kid and he’s going to be a great football player in this league for a long time. … He has a lot of composure. When he makes a mistake you can’t tell and he goes out there and just performs well every week in and week out and I think he’s going to do great for us next season.” – center Mike Pouncey on his season and the potential of rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

“It was fun. Definitely going out there with the guys and competing at a high level with my teammates was fun. I definitely don’t regret anything. I had fun this year, I definitely got better, I helped others get better and I think that was the most important thing.” – cornerback Sean Smith on his performance this season.

“Personally I feel good. I felt like there was definitely some football left out there on the field and some plays I could have made to help the team down the stretch. But it’s been a pleasure to play here these last two years. I really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed playing in front of the fans and the city.” – running back Reggie Bush on his season.